General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) agreed to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties on Friday to settle allegations that the automaker had illegally sold OnStar driver data to brokers without customer consent, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
From OnStar To Brokers
GM's OnStar system tracked and recorded driving behavior, including rapid acceleration, hard braking, speeding and precise geolocation, and allegedly sold data from hundreds of thousands of Californians to brokers Verisk Analytics (NYSE:VRSK) and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, generating roughly $20 million, according to Bonta's office.
The conduct was first reported by The New York Times in 2024.
What The Settlement Demands
Apart from $12.75 million in civil penalties, GM must stop selling driver data to any consumer reporting agency for five years, delete retained data within 180 days unless it obtains explicit customer consent and formally request that Verisk and LexisNexis purge the information.
“General Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent and despite numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so,” Bonta said, adding the settlement “requires General Motors to abandon these illegal practices.”
Dual Regulatory Pressure
The deal follows a prior Federal Trade Commission order already barring GM and OnStar from selling certain data to consumer reporting agencies. Bonta’s office noted California’s insurance laws likely shielded consumers from premium hikes.
GM told Reuters the settlement “addresses Smart Driver, a product we discontinued in 2024.”
Trading Metrics, Technical Analysis
GM has a market capitalization of $71.05 billion, with a 52-week high of $87.62 and a 52-week low of $46.82.
Over the past 12 months, the stock of the multinational automotive has gained 65.89%.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GM is experiencing mid-term consolidation along with short and long-term upward movement.
Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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